


Sweet Nyssa

by Dancingsalome



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (1963)
Genre: Mindfuck, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-20
Updated: 2015-05-06
Packaged: 2018-03-13 22:32:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,746
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3398627
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dancingsalome/pseuds/Dancingsalome
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's not just the Doctor who sometimes meets himself. When two versions of the Master get their timelines entangled, they decide to go after Nyssa. Poor Nyssa.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own any characters from Doctor Who; I just play with them for fun.
> 
> No warnings apply for this chapter. 
> 
> This is my very first Doctor Who-fic, but when I started it, I wasn’t sure in what direction it would go so it has been on hold for a while. I also felt I needed to re-vamp the first chapter, so here is the re-written chapter. I still feel a bit wobbly about it, so feedback is very welcome. At the moment I have the plot all planned, but am unsure of how explicit it will all be. Explicit is great fun to write, but it might not serve the story best. What do you think?
> 
> I love both classic and new Who, but the classic has something that the new series don't have; the Master as he is played by Roger Delgado and Anthony Ainley. I so much prefer the Master suave, charming and sadistic than John Simm's bat out crazy version. I also find both Delgado and Ainley quite sexy; obviously I'm a sucker for a goatee. Nyssa is one of my favourite companions, quiet, smart and nice. I always felt that when the Master takes over Tremas body, then he must get his memories. Especially as he manages to trick Nyssa into thinking he is Tremas in Logopolis, he would have needed those memories for that. So what about feelings? The Master isn’t devoid of feelings himself so I imagine he could have inherited some feelings for Nyssa from Tremas. Just probably not fatherly, in my mind it would be just like the Master to twist it into something else and nastier. Delgado’s Master would just come along for the ride and of course the chance of doing something that will hurt the Doctor.
> 
> This fic is set several years after she left the TARDIS, working as an academia at a university, a career she has in a spin-off novel called Asylum. Basically this fic is just me indulging in a fantasy with not one, but two Masters. Poor Nyssa. Or perhaps lucky Nyssa.

Nyssa hurried over the university yard and up the broad marble steps on her way to her office. Before she entered the house she paused and looked back with a pleased smile. She had visited many universities on different planets when she travelled with the Doctor and some things were always the same, regardless of culture and time period. Despite the students and teachers that hurried to and fro, there was a serenity, a calmness, and the shared purpose shared by everyone; the pursuit of learning. She was happy here, and it had slowly become her home even if the homesickness for her lost planet and people never would leave completely. Still, this place had opened its arms for her and given her a new chance to find a place to belong to with new friend and sometimes lovers to ease her loneliness. When she turned to enter she walked straight into someone who had come up the stairs behind her back and the notes and books she had been carrying went flying.

"I am terribly sorry," the stranger said as she kneeled down to collect her things, but he made no move to help her. His voice was deep and cultured and somewhat familiar and when Nyssa picked up her last paper and looked up, she suddenly felt like she was plunging into an abyss. The person was a man, dressed in black with dark hair and beard, and for several seconds when she couldn't breathe she thought it was the Master. Then the sense of falling stopped and she could see it wasn't him after all. This man had white streaks in both hair and beard and he looked quite different. He was older, shorter and with different eye colour and with a hairline growing in a distinct peak over his forehead.

"Is there anything wrong, Miss?"

Nyssa shook her head and accepted the black-gloved hand the man stretched out to help her up on her feet again. "No, nothing wrong at all, you just reminded me of someone for a moment."

The man smiled. "Someone nice, I hope."

Nyssa gave him a small, rather shaky smile. It would sound rude to tell this stranger he had an unfortunate likeness to the man who had killed her father. "Oh, no one important."

"It was unforgivable of me to startle you like that. Let me make it up for you." And before Nyssa had time to react, he had relieved her of her papers. "Allow me to escort you to your destination."

Still feeling like she had somehow offended the man for just thinking he was the Master, Nyssa didn't protest. "It's not far, just up to the next floor."

"Ah, what a pity."

Nyssa felt rather flustered. Was he flirting with her? It wasn't uncommon that it happened, but this man did look much too much like the Master to make her feel comfortable with it. She walked a little faster and felt relieved when they reached her office so she could relieve him of her things. Oddly enough, her door was open which puzzled her, she was very careful to lock it whenever she left. Forgetting her unwanted escort she went in, worried that something had been stolen, but the room was empty and nothing locked disturbed. She placed the books on her desk and looked around again, sensing that something wasn't quite right, but she couldn’t figure out what it was. The door slammed shut, and she jumped and turned. Without her noticing it the man had followed her into the room and was now leaning against the door with his arms crossed. He had seemed affable enough on the staircase, but now his air had changed and blocking her like that felt decidedly threatening. She started to ask him what he was doing, but then she froze at a sudden sound. A door opened behind her though there were only one door to her office and that was the one she was looking at.

The man looked over her shoulder and said, "You are right, she is absolutely delightful."

Nyssa spun around and then the sense of vertigo was back and this time it was for real. The man, who has stepped into the room, out of what should have been an ordinary cabinet, was the Master she knew all too well. He grinned at her, white teeth flashing.

"Not happy to see me, Nyssa? It has been all too long."

She didn't bother to answer; instead she looked back at the stranger. They did look a lot like each other, dark and bearded and they excluded the same arrogant air, the same menace. She looked back at the Master and then at the stranger again, her thoughts racing. There was an explanation to this, an anomaly for sure, but a possible, if frightening explanation. Something the Doctor had once told her could happen when you time-travelled.

"You are the Master, both of you!"

"Bright little thing," remarked the strange Master, and the Master laughed.

"That's my clever girl."

Anger flared. "I'm not your girl."

"But you are, sweet Nyssa. You always were. I have been waiting a long time for this meeting. I have known, since the first time I saw you that you were, because I have always remembered this moment. You see, we got our timelines a bit entangled, myself and I. As I can't very well have long conversations with myself, we decided to pay you a visit while we wait for everything to sort itself out."

As he spoke, he stepped closer and Nyssa backed away from him, too late realising that she backed straight into the arms of the strange Master. Before she could move away his hands closed around her arms and pulled her closer to him. She straightened, trying to show a bravery she didn't feel.

"So what am I going to call you, then? Master One and Master Two? Sounds a bit silly."

"Oh, you could always call me father," the Master said and then laughed at her open revulsion.

"Well," the strange Master said after some consideration, "you can call me Koschei, Nyssa. I was called that a long time ago." He leaned close to her, his breath hot on her neck. "I think I would like to hear you say that name."

"You won't have anything for this. I haven't seen the Doctor for many years and I have no idea where he is. I am sure he doesn’t know where I am!"

The Master came closer, much too close and there she could not get away with Koschei's hands holding her like steel, pulling her back against his chest. She was forced to look into the face where she could still see her father though she knew he wasn’t there anymore. He smiled at her and reached out to touch her face and when she tried to flinch away, he caught her at the throat as he caressed her cheek with his other hand.

"The Doctor? Oh, he will undoubtedly be extremely upset by the time he realises what must have happened to you, but we are not concerned with him at all right now. No, we came here for you, Nyssa. Only for you."


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings for this chapter; mind games and slight violence.

Nyssa allowed Koschei and the Master to lead her into the Master’s TARDIS without even a pretence of resistance. There were two of them and they were both stronger than her. If she struggled one of her colleagues or students could come and that was the last thing she wanted. The Master, she knew, would not hesitate to kill any would-be rescuers, and she didn’t want to anyone to be hurt. But she would, Nyssa thought as the Master stopped at the console and Koschei brought her deeper into the TARDIS, she would certainly not come out of this unharmed. Even so she took care to memorise where they were going and what kind of looks the door they passed had.

Her mind was racing; what did they want with her? To lure the Doctor would have been the obvious reason and the one that had been best for her. She knew her Doctor would do everything he could to save her, if he only knew what had happened to her. But baiting the Doctor seemed to be a secondary goal, at least for now, which meant that she was on her own. If they had just wanted to murder her, she would already be dead now, though they might very well kill her after they had got what they wanted. Did they need her help? The Master was a genius, true, but so was the Doctor and at times he had relied on her intelligence and training. On the other hand there was a whole universe filled with people who were more skilled than her and evidently it was just her they wanted.

That far in her thoughts they entered a large room, nicely furnished in the same style as her childhood home. With a growing sense of uneasiness Nyssa realised that it was almost a copy. It must be deliberate and she wondered how many of her father’s memories that were still living inside the Master. Koschei let go of her and strolled away to look at a bookcase. He remarked over his shoulder.

“This room is, as I understand it, made for you. Myself I never really cared for Trakenite home decor.”

“For me? Why?”

“I gather my future self plans to keep you around even after I am gone.”

“Keep me? For what?”

“Haven’t you guessed? An astute girl like you? He does seem to have something of a little obsession for you. Didn’t you know that?” He looked her over and added politely. “Now that I have seen you I can quite understand that, of course.”

A horrible suspicion rose in her mind. “You wouldn’t!”

Koschei raised an eyebrow. “Of course I would. Just because you’re precious Doctor chooses to live like a monk doesn’t mean I do. You are a pretty girl and it will be immensely satisfying to imagine the dear Doctor’s reaction when he finds out what has happened.”

He came up to her, touching her temple with a finger. “And you have brilliant, beautiful mind, that will be the real conquest.”

Nyssa swallowed. His touch was soft, but that somehow made it more threatening, not less. What did she know about this Master? Cooler, less manic. Perhaps a bit more fixated on the Doctor than the one she knew. Above all, not yet the Master who had murdered her father. If she could somehow separate them, then her slim chances of escape would be a little less slim. And then there was the urgent need to not be touched by hands that had once belonged to Tremas, she felt she could do almost anything to prevent that from happening. Seduction games had never interested her, and now she had just minutes before the Master came. Still, she had to try. So she put her hands on Koschei’s chest and gazed up into his face and gave him a shy smile. Even if he was a shorter man than the Master he was still towering over her and she felt very small. He looked down at her and his face softened, making him look almost nice.

“But you are the Master; you wouldn’t want to share, would you? You don’t have to do that.”

“My dear child, you know that he is I and I couldn’t do anything to myself.”

But he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her closer. His other hand busied itself with the comb that held hair in a chignon, freeing the heavy curls to tumble down her back.

“No, but you could protect me from him, couldn’t you, until the timelines have untangled? You are the stronger one, you are pure Time Lord. And when it is time for you to part, I could go with you. I would do anything you might want. And if you want to hurt the Doctor, my willingness would hurt him so much.”

“And you would want to do that to your dear friend?”

“Not much of a friend! He couldn’t, wouldn’t, save my people. If he had never come to Traken, then I might still have a home. I left him when I realised that.”

Koschei smiled at her and Nyssa felt a faint flickering of hope. But then his smile grew cold and his hand that had played with her hair closed, giving her head a painful tug back.

“You spin beautiful little tales. There is only one problem with all that, my dear. Your consent is of no importance to me and I don’t care to have it. I can get you to do anything I want and I can make you want it too.”

Nyssa’s breath hitched and the panic she had tried hard to suppress roared awake. Behind her she heard the Master’s low laugh.

“Such a deceitful trick, Nyssa. Too bad you do deviousness so badly.”

Koschei released her, and she took a step back and then he hit her over the face. Not as hard as he could have and it was the shock rather than pain that made her stumble. She would have fallen if the Master hadn’t caught her. He murmured into her ear.

“And for all that beautiful intelligence you forgot something. You forgot that I have already done this, albeit from a different perspective. Whatever you do until my past me leaves, are already remembered by me.”

“But you can’t remember! It’s a temporal paradox, and the Doctor says you forget those.”

“It rather depends on what type of time anomaly it is. I remember this very well indeed.” He kissed the side of her neck and Nyssa shuddered. “Funny how the taboo of incest holds strong in cultures even long after the problem of diseased offspring is long gone.”

Koschei looked bored. “You do know, Nyssa, that he is mostly me, not your father?”

She didn’t bother to answer. She knew that, but it didn’t matter, she could still see Tremas in the Master and even if she hadn’t, he was still her father’s murdered. Koschei tilted up her chin, so she forcing her to meet his eyes. 

“Listen Nyssa. You will obey. You want what we will do to you. You want it so much that it aches. You will obey.”

She could feel his words sinking into her mind and her body respond, but she did what the Doctor had taught her; imagined closed and bolted doors in her mind to protect it. She could feel Koschei’s mind push at them and then slid away and her body was her own again.

“Good girl,” he murmured. “It is so much more fun if you fight me.”

He looked at the Master. “A strong mind. Let’s give her an incentive to be more obedient. Pain, I have found, is a very good way to break down defences.”

The Master let go of her, but she found it difficult to stop looking into Koschei’s eyes. Then something hit her back, something thin and supple and in her surprise Nyssa couldn’t hold back a scream, the pain seared through her and she lost her concentration. Before she could regain it, she was hit again and she could feel Koschei’s mind slip inside hers again and this time she wasn’t able to stop him. His eyes seemed to grow larger, boring into her and his will wrapped around hers and bound it.

“Obey now. You like it. You want it.”

It was a strange feeling, her thoughts still her own, but his imposing will kept them in check, overruling what she really felt. The next time she was hit the pain was followed by an equal amount of pleasure, unbalancing her even further. Her head was turned, and looked into the Master’s cold blue eyes and then he was in her mind as well. The next time Nyssa screamed it was only inside her own head.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings for this chapter; non-explicit non-con and mind rape.

Time started to behave very strangely. Nyssa was aware of what happened outside her own mind, but could not stop her from obeying the demands that was put on her body. Jolt of pleasure and pain went through her, but though she knew they came in quick flashes, what she felt were slow-moving waves that crashed through her body, over and over again.

Inside her mind, time moved too fast. She could feel Koschei and the Master ripping through her thoughts, discarding and dissecting. To fight the invasion of both her physical and psychological being was impossible for her, but the Time Lords seemed to function on both levels with ease. In the choice between mind and body she realised that it was her mind she needed to protect the most. She fought them inside her head as hard as she could, slamming mental doors down on her thoughts, trying to conjure up barriers that it would be impossible to break down. But it was not a fair fight, there were two of them and however fast she twisted and turn, she could only focus on one point at any given time.

As time passed Nyssa became aware of another kind of pain, one inside her head. A pulsating, sliver sharp pain that was not caused by the minds that invaded hers, this was a pain that came from her. Suddenly she found herself in a small bright room that her brain must have conjured up; this was not a real place she knew. Still she managed to close a smooth door against the invading consciousness of the Masters and looked around. There was a white bed in the middle of the room and as she walked toward it the pain receded. Somehow she understood that she was given a way out if only temporary. If she allowed herself to pass out, then she would lock her senses more effectively than any imagined barriers. Her mind, if nothing else, would be safe for a little while. With a feeling of gratefulness she sank down on the bed and everything became nothing.

Then, slowly, Nyssa woke up, realising her head hurt again. A throbbing all-consuming headache that made her keep perfectly still with only a gradual comprehension that she was alone in her mind and her body was once again her own. With her eyes closed she tried to make out her surroundings. She was lying down, from the soft firmness underneath her, on a bed. Her clothes were gone, she had a vague feeling she had been ordered to remove them. It was quiet around her and she could not tell if she was alone or not. Despite the pain in her head she tried to open her eyes a little. To her relief the room was quite dim even if the light still was strong enough to hurt.

At first the world was just a blur but when she could focus she realised that Koschei was watching her, his face impassive, as he was adjusting the cuffs of his jacket. Nyssa involuntary winced, had the pain in her head permitted it she would have scrabbled away, as far from him as she could, but as it were, she could only press herself deeper into the mattress.

“Ah, you are awake. I was afraid that I would have to take my leave before you did.” He took one of her hands, kissing her fingers. “A pure pleasure to make your acquaintance. I look forward to be able to re-new it, eventually.”

He disappeared from her view and Nyssa closed her eyes again. She really ought to get up, but the headache swelled and rolled and when she tried to move she felt sick. For the time being she could just stay where she was, very still and hoping that she would feel better soon. Eventually she heard soft foot steps, and she looked up at the Master.

He sat down beside her. “My sweet Nyssa, you have to stop fighting me. Your little mind can’t cope with that of a Time Lord’s, which is why you are in such a pain now.”

With an unexpected tenderness he helped her raise her head and made her drink something bitter. Nyssa sputtered at the taste, but almost at once the headache curled up and away to just a whispering murmur in the back of her head.

“Stop struggling now. It doesn’t have to be so bad. If you let me in, I won’t need to hurt you.”

He bent down and kissed her, a soft but insistent kiss, then continued to her cheeks, her eyes, her throat and breasts and Nyssa sighed and let him. It was easy, frighteningly easy, and she was awarded with pleasure without pain that swept her away. But he was inside her, body and mind and she didn’t want him there, she didn’t and still it was too easy to not fight it.

When he was done he finally left her and Nyssa watched him leave, waiting a few minutes before she dared to look away from the door out. Even if her headache was gone, she was deadly tired and now she became aware of how the rest of her body hurt. Deadly tired she just wanted to curl up and sleep, but that was the last thing she could allow herself to do. Though she wasn’t completely sure, she thought that the Master had left her to rest. The Doctor rarely got tired, but it did happen and the Master’s body was not fully Time Lord. And Nyssa had fought; it seemed that some kind of mental fatigue would be due to the Master as well. At least that was she had to believe.

Still not moving she willed herself to relax, looking deep into her. When she had slammed imaginary doors shut, locking and bolting them, she had made them big, difficult to miss, but in the furthest corner of her perception was a small, insignificant door, still shut. Not even locked, just wholly uninteresting, a drab little hatch that no one had cared to look behind. They had not been interested in it, perhaps not even noticed it, because in their urgent greed they had gone for the Doctor and her memories of him. The thoughts behind the little door had nothing to do with the Doctor; inside it she had stored something else, something that was more important than anything else at the moment. Inside it was everything she could imagine to help her to escape.

Nyssa made herself sit up on the edge of the bed. Damage control first, she decided, she had to see what they had done to her. It hurt to move, but she could move. This room was intended to be her prison and as the Master had seen fit to grant her a comfortable one; logic told her that she would find everything she needed inside it. That proved very easy to confirm, she quickly found a food dispenser in a corner and then a nicely furnished bathroom. She ran the water in the bath tub. She had no way of knowing if she was monitored in any way, or how, so she decided to at least try to mimic the actions she was most likely to do. The water looked very tempting, she longed to clean herself, but that was another thing she had to wait with.

A large mirror provided her with her image, a woman with tangled hair and hurt eyes. Her mouth was swollen from the slap she had received and a bruise was forming there, as well as on her breasts, arms and legs. She could see red welts on her back and buttocks, but nothing that would cause any permanent harm. If she could only sleep, then her constitution would heal most of it away quickly, for now she would just have to ignore the discomfort and the knowledge that she wasn’t seriously hurt would help her to do so.

She washed her face at least and then went back into the room to find her clothes. They were scattered on the floor, but to her relief not destroyed. She dressed and then ordered a warm, thick soup that she hastily devoured. It was tempting to order a massive amount of food to take with her, but that would be an odd thing to do and might set some kind of alarm. After some contemplating she selected a modest amount of foodstuff that were both easy to carry and nutritious. Then she looked through the wardrobe, which, as she had suspected, contained clothes that would fit her. She loathed the idea of wearing anything in it, but she had to think forward and she might need something warm, so she picked out a coat. And being as prepared as she could, Nyssa sat down to figure out how she was to get out of the room and escape.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning for this chapter; aftermath of abuse.

The first thing Nyssa had to do was to get out of the room. She had noticed earlier that the looks combined a genetic scan with mechanical parts. The Master had certainly left enough bio mass on her skin to work with and with their already similar genetic makeup she was fairly convinced she could fool the lock. The other part of the lock was more problematic, there was nothing in the room she could be use as a tool. She did, however, find her hair comb discarded on the floor. Broken into pieces it could work as a primitive tool and she grimly set to work. Her fear of being caught made it seem like hours, but she managed to open the door in the end. Nyssa allowed herself a small, joyless smile in triumph. He had underestimated her as she rather thought he would. Even if he could use her father's memories at will, Tremas had died before she had fully left childhood and before her mind had been completely formed. Her quest had never really stopped, and she has gained a vast and varied knowledge since her father’s death, but the Master, had not taken that into account.

With her shoes in her hand and carrying her scant provisions, Nyssa sneaked back toward the console room. Her options were few and none of them were good and she was keenly aware of that. While walking she went through them in her mind. If she encountered the Master or if he was in the console room, she would try to hide herself in the bowels of his TARDIS. She might be able to hide from him until she could find a way out. If the TARDIS was somewhere where she couldn’t get out, then she would have to do the same. Even if she was fairly certain she could program the Master’s TARDIS to get her back home, she was sure that would get his attention before she could escape. So what she had to hope for was that they were at a planet where she could survive on her own. She would probably never be able to return home, but despite all the potential danger life on an unknown planet would have, it would still be better than remain a prisoner of the Master. The memory of how easy it had been to stop fighting him and letting him do what he wanted made her even more certain she had to get away. If she remained, he would gradually grind down her resistance and make her mind his playground.

The corridors were deserted and the console room blessedly empty. It felt almost too easy, and she hesitated in the doorway. Could she really have been able to get this far without triggering any alarms? Perhaps the Master was waiting to pounce on her, just at the verge of freedom. But it was impossible to not try to get away now, and it was also possible he was arrogant enough to not even consider that she could get out. To her immense relief the console showed that the TARDIS was safely parked on a planet where she could breathe and the temperature was livable though she didn’t recognise its name or see if it was inhabited.

Nyssa stepped into her shoes and with a last glance over her shoulder she opened the door. Before it had fully opened she tumbled out, running and then she stopped so abruptly she almost fell backward. A tall blond man was standing there, staring at the Master’s TARDIS with a rather vague expression on his face. For her it was, the most welcome and unexpected sight she could ever have hoped to see.

“Ah Nyssa,” he said with a smile. “I was just thinking of how on earth I would get the doors to open. No matter, I see that you managed to do that splendidly. Well, if you don’t care to linger, I think we should leave.”

Inside the TARDIS Nyssa leaned against the wall as she watched the Doctor manoeuvre the console. ”How did you know where I was?”

“Oh, that was easy,” he said smiling without looking up. “I don’t want to intrude on your new lives when some of you want to leave me, but I do keep a bit of an eye on old friends. The TARDIS is set to give off a ping if certain things happen. Like when the Master’s timeline suddenly seemed to wobble all over yours. Quite alarmed me, in fact, so I thought I’d better investigate.”

He looked up and his smile faded. “But I got here a bit late. Too late. Nyssa, what did he do to you?”

“They,” Nyssa said faintly. “There were two versions of him.”

She had noticed before that when the Doctor stopped looking faintly vague and focused all of his attention on one thing, the world seemed to hold its breath. It felt like that now, when he really looked at her, taking in her bruises and dishevelled hair and she could see when he understood. The Doctors eyes suddenly darkened and something shifted in his face. It was a subtle change, but, Nyssa could sense the burning anger that suddenly flared up beneath his affable face.

He took a few steps toward her but the sudden movement made Nyssa cringe and he veered away from her, back to the console. He started to work it again, pushing button with a grim determination.

“What are you doing, Doctor?”

“Going back. This time he has gone too far. I will go back and make sure that he will be gone, once and for all.”

“No!”

“Why not? Wouldn’t you be the first to say he deserves it?”

Nyssa searched for the words to explain what she felt. “He hurt me so much, but still, on Traken we didn’t believe in evil and we didn’t believe in revenge. I’m the only one left, the only one who can honour the way we lived. If I pursued vengeance, I would be like him and then my world would be truly gone.”

She walked up to the Doctor and placed a hand on his arm. “And I don’t want you to be like him either. I need you to not be like him.”

The Doctor was silent for a few moments but before he answered. “I see. Very well, you have the right to decide.”

He gave her a glance, full of anguish. “But it’s my fault. If you had never travelled with me, he wouldn’t have pursued you-“

“No Doctor, I think you are wrong. He could have gone for any of your companions, but he went for me. When he took my father’s body, he got his memories as well. I think I got imprinted on his mind and however much I want to deny it; there is a bond between us. My father loved me, but because the Master’s mind is what it is, those feelings turned into something twisted and perverted. I think he would have come for me, even if I had not gone with you. The Master came to Traken long before you did and what happened would have happened anyway. It would even have been worse if you hadn’t come and you know it. Consider this; I would either have been dead now or with the Master without any hope or friends.”

Her grip tightened at the thought of how utterly alone she would have been without the Doctor. “You don’t get to blame yourself, my friend. I don’t need your guilt. And I won’t let you have it.”

“No, of course you don’t. I’m very sorry, Nyssa.”

For a moment they both stood motionless. Then the Doctor stretched out his hand towards her and when she took it, his hand closed over hers. His hand felt cool and solid around hers, but Nyssa knew that he would let go in an instant if his grip scared her. A shiver run down her spine and suddenly she couldn’t stop shivering. For the first time she realised that she was safe, that she had got away. She had stored away the horror of the last hours as far back in her mind as she could until now. She had needed her wits about her to escape, but now she didn’t need to anymore and the pain welled up inside her, erupting faster and faster like a volcano. She looked up at the Doctor, but her sight was blurred and when she tried to speak she choked on unshed tears.

The Doctor slowly wrapped an arm around her shoulders as gently as his hold of her hand had been, and after a moment of hesitation Nyssa stepped into his embrace. She burrowed her face in his sweater, breathing in his well-know scent as he stroked her hair and spoke with a very low voice.

“Listen to me, Nyssa. You saved yourself. You have been brilliant and brave and I am sure that you would have saved yourself all the way home if I hadn’t turned up. But I am here now and you have been very hurt, so let me help you to be well again. Let me be the Doctor.”

And Nyssa, knowing she was safe, finally allowed herself to cry.

The End


End file.
